Once every few weeks I get an email from users asking me why they are banned. 9 out of 10 times the problem is that they are using AOL which has dynamic IP addresses like 205.188.116.68 which resolve to something like this:
cache-dtc-af06.proxy.aol.com
There really is no point banning somebody on AOL, as what you will end up doing is banning others.
Proc
By the way, none of the mods have any power to IP ban - so far as we know only yourself and General Sandworm have that power. Hence, telling us this probably won’t make much difference :p.
This is a common problem with message boards, as in banning IPs, you may not be just banning one troll, but those living within his proximity also. This happened to me once, but not even with AOL as I was banned from a message board I had never joined because, as best I can tell, shared an IP with some stalker asshole. And I was only (Google) searching for a photo. 
AOL is especially problematic as a dedicated, knowledgeable troll will often use AOL as essentially a proxy server as they have three main routers for North American/UK users in LA, NYC, and London that cannot be traced to their location or actual servers…
The thing is, an AOL proxy should change every time someone logs into AOL as their IPs are not “static.”
I’m not sure about that. I think if you choose (an you may be only one of three mods that can do it) the “Delete Post as Spam” option, you might be banning the IP also. I’m not positively sure about that though…
Nope, pretty sure deleting post as spam doesn’t IP ban, but it does submit the post contents to an anti-spam service. Pretty sure Aly J came back on the same IP despite being banned that way.